As you already know, Feisal Abdul Rauf, Iman Feisal of theproposed Ground Zero mosque, will be touring the Middle East courtesy of the State Department on the taxpayers’ dime.

Outrageous as that may strike you, there are two more outrageous things on this:
a. he’s already done it twice before (the first time under the Bush administration)
and
b. apparently he will be accompanied by State Dept. employee J. P. Crowley. I say apparently because I have not received conformation that Crowley would go on that trip.

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley praised the Imam, calling him “a distinguished Muslim cleric,” who is part of a program where “we send people from Muslim communities here in this country around the world to help people overseas to understand our society and the role of religion within our society.”

Crowley also said that fundraising on the Imam’s trip for the Islamic Center would not be allowed.

And how will Crowley know? Does Crowley (if he goes with Feisal) speak fluent Arabic? Aside from directly asking someone to “open their checkbook”, what is the difference between networking and fundraising? And if the Imam does, will the State Dept. pull the plug on the trip and send him home? Home where? Feisal’s out of the country right now, somewhere unspecified.

But back to the above article,

It turns out that this government supported trip will be the Imam’s third with the State Department. Crowley said the first was in 2007, during the Bush administration, and that Rauf went to Egypt this past January.

“We have a long term relationship with him,” Crowley explained. “His work on tolerance and religious diversity is well known and he brings a moderate perspective to foreign audiences on what it is like to be a practicing Muslim in the United States.”

A moderate perspective from a guy who

he recently refused to call Hamas a terrorist organization and he has said that the United States was partly to blame for the terrorist attacks on 9-11.

In an interview with “60 Minutes,” in 2001, Rauf claimed that U.S. policies were quote, “an accessory” to the 9-11 attacks.

As John Bolton put it,

“The State Department has no responsibility to send fruitcakes around as if they are representatives of America,” says former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton

The goal, however, is not simply to open a typical gay bar, but one friendly to men of Islamic faith. An entire floor, for example, will feature non-alcoholic drinks, since booze is forbidden by the faith. The bar will be open all day and night, to accommodate men who would rather keep their sexuality under wraps – but still want to dance.

Numerous readers say they wanted to open a strip club across the street. Others: A pork store (like Satriales in the Sopranos). I for one don’t see why you have to pick just one. A strip club/gay bar with many pork dishes on the menu (and elsewhere) might work just fine. Bonus: They could give away puppies!

Greg will have to contend with a whole bunch of NYC bureaucratic hurdles (not the least of which is a liquor license), but at least one hopes he’ll make sure to clear title if he purchases a property, unlike the Ground Zero mosque front man, Sharif El-Gamal, who paid $700,000 for ConEd’s 99-year lease but not for the ownership interests. Andrew McCarthy explains,

This raises at least three intriguing points.

First, did the Ground Zero mosque sponsors mislead the public and the various review boards about the status of the property at issue? Rep. Pete King certainly appears to think so, as Connie Hair reports at Human Events.

Second, how does the lack of full ownership affect the potential financing? Of course, to this point, we don’t know anything about which entities — including foreign entities — may be putting up dough for this project. Yet, whoever the investors may be, it would obviously make a big difference to them whether they’re buying (a) a property reasonably free and clear, or (b) a lease with lots more strings attached. And would other potential buyers get into the mix in order to stop the project?

Finally, there is politics — specifically, New York gubernatorial politics. El-Gamal is said to want to purchase the property outright from Con Ed. Whether that happens or not, New York’s Public Service Commission will evidently have a lot to say. According to the Post, the commission not only determines utility rates but has the power to reject any proposed sale if it would interfere with the delivery of services. More to the point, the commissioners are appointed by the governor.

Of course, the governor of New York State and/or perhaps the mayor of New York City can intervene in favor of the mosque – in the spirit of “tolerance and understanding” and favoritism, too – and claim eminent domain over the ConEd property. Which in turn would open another can of worms, since ConEd is already providing services “for the public good.”

In any case, if I had money to spare I would become one of Greg’s financial backers and enjoy a glass of malbec at the gay bar/strip club/lechonera (how diverse can you get?), along with a nice serving of fresh chicharrones – Puerto Rican pork rinds.

I suspect it will be a huge hit not just with Muslim gay men but with the bears (who doesn’t like a bushy beard on a hot Middle Eastern dude?) and the Recovery community. A gay bar with an alcohol-free zone. Greg is ahead of his time.

Indeed, the Cordoba Imam’s packing in more frequent flyer miles than Michelle Obama on her trip to Cordoba, Spain, but what’s shocking is that it’s at US taxpayer’s expense (emphasis added)

Next stops for Feisal Abdul Rauf, imam of the plan for a mosque and Islamic center near Ground Zero: Courtesy of the U.S. State Department, Rauf — a.k.a. Imam Feisal – is scheduled to spend the rest of the summer on a swing through the petro-dollar palaces of Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Bahrain, and Qatar.

The State Department ain’t talking freely, either

As for the State Department: After three days of my repeated questions and phone calls, State by Friday’s close of business had yet to provide any response to my request for confirmation of Rauf’s trip, Khan’s trip, or details about their State-sponsored summer outreach excursions to the Middle East. Apparently, it takes quite a while at State to get “clearance” for disclosure to the American public of such basic details as who, exactly, is engaging in public outreach at our expense and on our behalf.
…
As for the State Department: After three days of my repeated questions and phone calls, State by Friday’s close of business had yet to provide any response to my request for confirmation of Rauf’s trip, Khan’s trip, or details about their State-sponsored summer outreach excursions to the Middle East. Apparently, it takes quite a while at State to get “clearance” for disclosure to the American public of such basic details as who, exactly, is engaging in public outreach at our expense and on our behalf.

At the State Department, which presumably will be spending taxpayer money on Rauf’s tour, I have yet to receive confirmation or any other information about his program, despite three days of my repeated requests by phone and e-mail. Apparently it is taking a while for State’s Bureau of Public Diplomacy to get “clearance” to release any details of this particular public outreach effort, though Rauf’s wife says it has been in the works for months.

All this comes at a moment when Rauf and his partners in New York are preparing to raise $100 million to build a 13-story Islamic center and mosque near Ground Zero. A Manhattan Landmarks committee gave the necessary approval on Aug. 3 to tear down the old Burlington Coat Factory building already purchased for $4.85 million by a real estate developer partnering with Rauf. That building is so close to Ground Zero that on the morning of the Sept. 11 attacks parts of one of the hijacked planes damaged its roof. On that lot, the Islamic center project is now cleared to roll forward, once the money rolls in.

Perhaps it’s coincidence that instead of haggling over financing in New York, Rauf–Imam Feisal, to his followers–will spend the rest of the summer touring some of the petro-dollar capitals of the planet, including such fonts of potential funding as Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. Rauf’s wife and partner in nonprofits, Daisy Kahn, told me in a phone interview this week that he will not be fundraising during these travels. Nor, said Kahn, will she be fund-raising when she makes a similar State-sponsored outreach trip later this month to Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Yes, you read it right: The State Department is paying (with taxpayer money, need I remind you?) for this guy’s fundraising trip to build the victory mosque at Ground Zero.